Brother V, I can just imagine you in the kitchen, making a mess with the flour!👨🍳 Thank you for reminding us that both presence & humor are good things to remember on a holiday.🎉
If there’s flour in the air and a mild sense of danger, you can assume I’m in the kitchen. Presence keeps me calm. Humor keeps me from throwing the mixing bowl. Grateful you’re here for both.
Thank you so much for this beautiful reflection! I love the spaciousness and grace in this piece for us to arrive just as we are and let presence be enough.
A quiet day with full bellies and a roof that holds is its own kind of holiness. No spectacle. Just enough. Grateful you had that. Blessings on you and your people as the season rolls forward.
On New Year's Eve 2024, my older brother fell, broke several bones and had a cerebral hemorrhage. He already had Parkinson's. The last two times I saw him, he was mostly confined to a wheelchair. Today, using a walker with his wife behind him, he walked from the car into my sister's home and sat in an armchair in the living room. Later he transferred to the wheelchair.
After the meal, some members decided to go for a walk. My brother rolled outside in the chair, but a few moments later, we could see him through the window, again walking with the walker, his wife behind him and his adult daughter pushing the empty wheelchair.
That’s a real miracle. Not the loud kind. The steady kind. A man who’s been through so much deciding he’s not done standing. A family moving with him step by step like a small circle of devotion.
Gratitude makes sense here.
What you saw was courage in motion. Blessings on that.
No turkeys will be harmed in the making of our Thanksgiving. The "feast" will be my variant on Shepherd's Pie, with a side of homemade cranberry sauce. And we will reflect on just how very fortunate we are to be here in the woods with wild deer and foxes for neighbors (along with the odd feral cat, the alleged coyotes which I've only ever heard in the distance, and of course a few human neighbors who seem alright to me). Tomorrow? I'll pull the Festivus Pole out of the corner of the garage, and pound it into the ground by the front steps where it will stand until after the Annual New Year's Beach Trip So Ain't Nobody Gotta Die. And then I'll deliver several dozen cookies (baked today) to the vet clinic we take our cats to, because they have to work tomorrow and I don't, and I want them to know that we appreciate all they do and hopefully that will make up for them missing the 4 AM Doorbuster Sale(!) in some small way.
This is peak sacred chaos and I love it. Shepherd’s Pie instead of turkey, wild neighbors, a Festivus Pole planted like a spiritual antenna, and cookies as offerings to the healers of cats.
That’s a whole liturgy of kindness.
Blessings on your woodland feast and the strange holiness you keep creating out there.
The Healers were surprised and delighted, which means I got the way better end of the deal (and none of the calories!). And my orange tabby girl reminded me not to forget about the office cat, so we included some Temptations (tuna flavor, of course) for the "Office Manager". In these times (and really any times, but especially now) I find that it's essential to find the things that bring you joy -- and do *that*. I don't know if that's sacred or selfish, or both.
Grateful for your efforts in imparting to us some guidance in returning to authentic being. Blessing to you! May the blessings all rise like your bread and multiply like dishes to clean at Thanksgiving.
Right place, right time. That’s how these things work when the heart is paying attention. Grateful our paths crossed in this strange little corner of the world.
Beautiful. Truly grateful for your daily reflections. This Thanksgiving, just like this year, felt upside down—but no one was strangled, so I’ll take that as a win. Hope you and yours enjoyed your day.
If the year was upside down and no one got strangled, that’s practically enlightenment. Sometimes survival itself is the holy work. Grateful you’re here, still standing, still seeing the beauty in the mess.
Peace and coffee is the whole liturgy some days. Grateful for your presence here too. And yes… may the road rise, and may we actually notice it when it does.
I’m reading everyone’s comments and VMB’s responses the morning after Thanksgiving and I have to tell y’all how peaceful, blessed and happy I feel hearing and seeing all of you.💜Thank you.Smiling.
There’s something sacred about a quiet morning after the chaos, hearing people show up with honesty and a little light. If it brought you peace, then the whole thing was worth it. Grateful you’re part of this circle.
Some sarcastic and meaningful thoughts about:Thanksgiving is a selfish Holiday because everyone and his mother expects a dead bird specifically grown to provide the Country with a massive amount of meat washed down with your favorite booze which will be ditched in the trash then it’s time to get some sleep, set the alarm for BLACK FRIDAY!!
Virginia, you’re not wrong. Thanksgiving has a talent for turning into a national performance art piece called Consume, Pass Out, Repeat. A bird dies, a bourbon disappears, and half the country wakes up at 4 a.m. to fistfight over discount air fryers.
But that’s the surface layer. Underneath all the noise there’s still a quiet human moment worth salvaging. A table, a breath, a flash of recognition that we’re alive and together for one more round.
We don’t fix the holiday by defending it. We fix it by showing up with a little more awareness than the marketing department planned for.
Brother V, I can just imagine you in the kitchen, making a mess with the flour!👨🍳 Thank you for reminding us that both presence & humor are good things to remember on a holiday.🎉
If there’s flour in the air and a mild sense of danger, you can assume I’m in the kitchen. Presence keeps me calm. Humor keeps me from throwing the mixing bowl. Grateful you’re here for both.
That makes me think of the Swedish Chef on the Muppets — also slightly dangerous in the kitchen!
Hahahaha hahahaha perfect hahahaha from the original Cookie Monster!
G'dish-g'dee, g'dish-g'doo, Mort-mort-mort🤣
Thank you so much for this beautiful reflection! I love the spaciousness and grace in this piece for us to arrive just as we are and let presence be enough.
That’s the whole secret. Show up as you are and let presence do the heavy lifting. Everything else is choreography. Grateful the piece landed for you.
A blessed Thanksgiving Alek to you and yours.
A quiet day, grateful in what we have. Time together for another holiday season, full bellies and a place to lay our head in slumber. ✨️
A quiet day with full bellies and a roof that holds is its own kind of holiness. No spectacle. Just enough. Grateful you had that. Blessings on you and your people as the season rolls forward.
Let’s burn more than the rolls in 2026.
Careful. The last time I burned more than the rolls, three angels resigned and the smoke alarm asked for a transfer.
But yes. 2026.
Let’s light up whatever needs to go.
😂
At least you didn't burn the Scrolls.
Give me time. The scrolls know I have a reckless streak. But yes… this round it was only the rolls. Small mercies from the universe.
Ah, family! Putting the "fun" in dysfunction since time in memorial. May your turkey and gravy stains wash out easily.❤️🙏🙌🖖
Family really is the original spiritual obstacle course. If the stains wash out and nobody weaponized a casserole, that counts as grace.
Blessings on your beautifully chaotic tribe.
Perfect💜
On New Year's Eve 2024, my older brother fell, broke several bones and had a cerebral hemorrhage. He already had Parkinson's. The last two times I saw him, he was mostly confined to a wheelchair. Today, using a walker with his wife behind him, he walked from the car into my sister's home and sat in an armchair in the living room. Later he transferred to the wheelchair.
After the meal, some members decided to go for a walk. My brother rolled outside in the chair, but a few moments later, we could see him through the window, again walking with the walker, his wife behind him and his adult daughter pushing the empty wheelchair.
My heart is grateful.
That’s a real miracle. Not the loud kind. The steady kind. A man who’s been through so much deciding he’s not done standing. A family moving with him step by step like a small circle of devotion.
Gratitude makes sense here.
What you saw was courage in motion. Blessings on that.
Thanks, Alec.
No turkeys will be harmed in the making of our Thanksgiving. The "feast" will be my variant on Shepherd's Pie, with a side of homemade cranberry sauce. And we will reflect on just how very fortunate we are to be here in the woods with wild deer and foxes for neighbors (along with the odd feral cat, the alleged coyotes which I've only ever heard in the distance, and of course a few human neighbors who seem alright to me). Tomorrow? I'll pull the Festivus Pole out of the corner of the garage, and pound it into the ground by the front steps where it will stand until after the Annual New Year's Beach Trip So Ain't Nobody Gotta Die. And then I'll deliver several dozen cookies (baked today) to the vet clinic we take our cats to, because they have to work tomorrow and I don't, and I want them to know that we appreciate all they do and hopefully that will make up for them missing the 4 AM Doorbuster Sale(!) in some small way.
This is peak sacred chaos and I love it. Shepherd’s Pie instead of turkey, wild neighbors, a Festivus Pole planted like a spiritual antenna, and cookies as offerings to the healers of cats.
That’s a whole liturgy of kindness.
Blessings on your woodland feast and the strange holiness you keep creating out there.
The Healers were surprised and delighted, which means I got the way better end of the deal (and none of the calories!). And my orange tabby girl reminded me not to forget about the office cat, so we included some Temptations (tuna flavor, of course) for the "Office Manager". In these times (and really any times, but especially now) I find that it's essential to find the things that bring you joy -- and do *that*. I don't know if that's sacred or selfish, or both.
Happy Thanksgiving! I’m grateful to have come across your substack today, finding just the words I needed. 🤗
Glad you found your way in. Sometimes the right words show up the moment we stop chasing them.
Grateful you’re here.
Grateful for your efforts in imparting to us some guidance in returning to authentic being. Blessing to you! May the blessings all rise like your bread and multiply like dishes to clean at Thanksgiving.
If the blessings rise like my bread, they’ll be lopsided but full of heart. And yes, may they multiply like the dishes no one admits they dirtied.
Grateful you’re walking this path back to what’s real.
This is perfect, thank you, my friend. And I really am grateful to have found your writings at this time and place in my life. 🙏
Right place, right time. That’s how these things work when the heart is paying attention. Grateful our paths crossed in this strange little corner of the world.
Yes!
Beautiful. Truly grateful for your daily reflections. This Thanksgiving, just like this year, felt upside down—but no one was strangled, so I’ll take that as a win. Hope you and yours enjoyed your day.
If the year was upside down and no one got strangled, that’s practically enlightenment. Sometimes survival itself is the holy work. Grateful you’re here, still standing, still seeing the beauty in the mess.
Happy Thanksgiving and I’m grateful — for you and the presence you share here. “May the road rise to meet you…” you know the rest. Peace and Coffee.
Peace and coffee is the whole liturgy some days. Grateful for your presence here too. And yes… may the road rise, and may we actually notice it when it does.
I'm thankful for you and your mission that you so humbly carry out for us young Padawans. Thank you Virgin Monk Boy. 🙏🏻
If I’m a guide, it is only because I tripped into a few pits first. Grateful you’re here walking this strange path with me.
I’m reading everyone’s comments and VMB’s responses the morning after Thanksgiving and I have to tell y’all how peaceful, blessed and happy I feel hearing and seeing all of you.💜Thank you.Smiling.
There’s something sacred about a quiet morning after the chaos, hearing people show up with honesty and a little light. If it brought you peace, then the whole thing was worth it. Grateful you’re part of this circle.
Some sarcastic and meaningful thoughts about:Thanksgiving is a selfish Holiday because everyone and his mother expects a dead bird specifically grown to provide the Country with a massive amount of meat washed down with your favorite booze which will be ditched in the trash then it’s time to get some sleep, set the alarm for BLACK FRIDAY!!
Virginia, you’re not wrong. Thanksgiving has a talent for turning into a national performance art piece called Consume, Pass Out, Repeat. A bird dies, a bourbon disappears, and half the country wakes up at 4 a.m. to fistfight over discount air fryers.
But that’s the surface layer. Underneath all the noise there’s still a quiet human moment worth salvaging. A table, a breath, a flash of recognition that we’re alive and together for one more round.
We don’t fix the holiday by defending it. We fix it by showing up with a little more awareness than the marketing department planned for.